


Skype For Dummies

by animeXalchemist



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Skype, Webcams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-12
Updated: 2014-10-12
Packaged: 2018-02-20 21:47:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2444330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animeXalchemist/pseuds/animeXalchemist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Haruka is tech-illiterate and Makoto has to show him the basics so that our stubborn dolphin can talk to his favourite shark.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Skype For Dummies

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired to write this after I saw this post on Tumblr: http://animexalchemist.tumblr.com/post/98353248407/sawizuka-by
> 
> Time Line: After their third year, when Makoto and Haruka are in Tokyo, and Rin is in Australia

“—And you’re all set!” Makoto said happily, stepping away from Haruka’s desk and nodding. “All you have to do is click the ‘call’ button, Haru-chan.”

“I told you to drop the –chan already,” Haruka grumbled, half-arsed, as he sat down tentatively in his chair. He was pretty sure that Makoto added the –chan just to mess with him but he had no time for mind games right now. He took a deep breath and stared at the white ‘S’ amid a bubble of blue. “Wait, what do I—”

“You’ll be fine,” Makoto reassured him, not able to hold back just the tiniest of laughs at the way Haru’s eyebrows were furrowed in utter confusion. He knew that his best friend wasn’t the most tech-literate of people, but really this was too much. Skype wasn’t _that_ difficult to use.

“What if it’s a bad time?” Haruka asked, crossing his arms as if to give his point more gravitas. “There’s a time difference, isn’t there? So… I’ll do it another day,” he concluded, pushing his wheelie chair back from the desk and moving to stand up. Sadly his ridiculously tall friend acted as a somewhat annoying wall. “Oi, Mako—”

“Sit down,” Makoto sighed, gently pushing Haruka back down into his seat. “You were looking forward to this, right?”

“I never said anything like that,” Haruka muttered, looking off to the side somewhere. He didn’t even need to look over to Makoto to know that he had _that_ smile on his face. The one that belied the fact that the guy knew everything. Perhaps _too much_ …

“Ah! Is that the time?” Makoto said, eyes widening when he checked his watch. “Haru, I have a lecture in twenty minutes so I need to get going.” He pointed to the headset innocently lying on the desk next to the laptop, “Put that on, then click the ‘call’ button. See you later!” he called as he was already halfway out of Haruka’s apartment.

Haruka stared at the headset in question and sighed. He didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t know what to say. True, he wanted to say _something_ , but…

“I’ll just… make some mackerel first,” he told himself, nodding at such an ingenious plan before his mobile buzzed to alert him to a text message.

_**From:** Makoto_

_**Message:** Call him. No more mackerel procrastination._

Well then that settled it: Makoto Tachibana really _did_ know too much.

Still, he found himself putting the headset on and staring at the call button for a few moments before he clicked it. There was a dial tone and Haruka was suddenly struck with the thought that Australia was very far away, thus being closer to the screen would probably aid with, err, distance… pixel… rates… megabytes? “I hate technology,” he muttered under his breath, but soon a little _‘connecting’_ appeared on the screen and then Rin was there, toothy grin in place as he waved.

“Yo, Haru.”

He should say something. But what to say? Well ‘hello’ would probably be a good start.

“RIN…” he yelled, leaning closer to the little camera Makoto had pointed out to him, “IT’S ME.” He assumed the louder voice would aid with sound-wave dispersal or something.

“I can see you,” Rin said, sounding a mixture of perplexed and amused, “Aren’t you too close to the camera?”

Ah, so Rin could see him. But… did he hear him? Hm. He leant in closer, “IT’S ME!!” he tried once more.

“I can also hear you clearly!” Rin said, wincing as he adjusted his own headset, “It’s okay. It works.”

“IT DOES?!”

“Haru… sit back a little. All I can see is the inside of your mouth,” Rin instructed, “And stop shouting!”

“ _You_ just shouted,” Haruka pointed out, but that was perhaps to be a little bit of an ass. Rin pulled funny faces when irritated. Nevertheless, once he was certain that he wouldn’t inadvertently break anything by moving, he sat back and waved at the screen. “Hi.”

“Hey,” Rin sighed before he started chuckling, “You really are bad with technology, huh?”

“No,” Haru said defensively, though really he had nothing to back up his case. If it wasn’t for Makoto he’d still be staring at his desktop or looking up images of water fountains or mackerel (there was a startling and most displeasing _lack_ of mackerel videos on YouTube, he had noticed, especially in relation to those cat videos Makoto always watched).

“Makoto set it all up, didn’t he?” Rin asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course not,” he lied, “I know all about the… dial-up broadband Instabook… thing.”

“Oh my god,” Rin was laughing now, the melodious sound of it surrounding Haruka courtesy of the headset, and was shaking his head, “Man I miss you, Haru.”

“…I miss you too.”

Rin stopped his laughing and instead tilted his head to the side, smiling softly. “Yeah,” he murmured, voice a little subdued, “But at least we have this.” It really wasn’t the same as a face-to-face interaction, but it was better than nothing. Briefly, and without much thought, Rin raised his hand up to place lightly against his computer screen as if he could reach through and somehow be back in Japan, if only for a moment. A second before it dropped, Haruka mirrored the action.

“Soon. We’ll swim together again soon.”

_‘We’ll be together again soon.’_

**Author's Note:**

> Short and sweet, quite possibly stupid. I hope you enjoyed it :3 Who said that last line? It’s up to you to decide~
> 
> animeXalchemist


End file.
